University of Wisconsin KnowledgeBase

UW-Madison Box - Project Directories

This document explains how to use Project Directories to collaborate in UW-Madison Box.

If you plan on sharing files with a research group, department or team of people over time, you can request a Project Directory to use for collaboration. A Project Directory is a UW-Madison enterprise Box account that is not owned by an individual user. Instead, requesting a Project Directory results in the creation of a special collaboration folder that will be used to manage group files and folders.

Project Directories usually have more than one co-owner associated with them to insure continuity of access in the event that one of the co-owners leave the University. Once the folder is available the co-owners may then share folder access with other Box users as desired.

Why Use a Project Directory?

The main advantage to using a Project Directory instead of an individually owned collaboration folder is that files and folders contained within the Project Directory folder will not be subject to deletion in connection with NetID service deactivations.

Requesting a Project Directory

To request a project directory, submit a request form with the appropriate information.

After clicking the Request Project Directory button to submit the form, your request will be reviewed and processed by the UW-Madison Box team, who will respond within 1-3 business days. Once created Project Directories will appear as a folder in your Box home page. Co-owners of the Project Directory folder will be responsible for communicating with UW-Madison Box administrators once the folder has been created.

Default Configuration

Sharing Permissions: By default Project Directories are configured so that only co-owners can invite other collaborators and only collaborators can access files via shared links. A Project Directory co-owner can change the default sharing permissions at the root folder level. For more information see: Folder Settings

Folder Owner: The "Owner" of a Project Directory is a Box Service Account that is not accessible by end users and can not be logged into directly. The Project Directory owner usually appears to be prj_<Folder_Name>_box@wisc.edu. This can not be changed.

Folder Access: Folder access is granted through sharing permissions. The co-owners of the Project Directory can invite other users to collaborate on the folder or assign other users as co-owners. For more information on folder collaboration please see Understanding Box Folder Settings

Common Issues

A File or Folder has Disappeared: Co-owners and Editors can move or delete files. If a file is deleted, only the collaborator who deleted the file will see it in their Trash.

Collaborator Permissions: It is important to carefully manage collaborator permissions. Box offers very fine control over what actions collaborators can take. See Understanding Collaborator Permission Levels for more information.

Adding Content to Project Directories: To transfer content to a Project Directory folder from an individual UW Madison Box account you should move or copy the file or folder rather than transferring ownership. Transferring ownership will remove you as a co-owner of the folder. See Moving and Copying Files & Folders for more information about managing Box content.

Convert an existing Folder to a Project Directory: If you would like to transfer a folder to a Box Project Directory please follow this procedure:

Request a Project Directory. You can find the Request Form here. You can expect the Project Directory to be created within 3 days of the request.

After the Project Directory is created you can now move the contents of your existing folder into the Project Directory. See Moving and Copying Files & Folders for more information about moving content in Box.

Note: If you want to transfer folders to a Project Directory you should always move the file/folder rather than transferring ownership. Transferring ownership will cause your collaborator status to change from Co-Owner to Editor and break the expected relationship between Project Directory Name and Owner.